


The New Age Empire v2: Book Three

by GokuGirl



Series: The New Age Empire [4]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Humor, Multi, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2001-07-10
Updated: 2001-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:05:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4403660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GokuGirl/pseuds/GokuGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Version #2. Crossover with my fanfic "Once Upon a Dream." Katrinka's back and she's after the Thief of Time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Thief of Time

**June 19th, AA 001**

**The New Age Empire  
Book Three: A Journey Through Time**

**New Character Bio (Remember her?):**

Katrinka  
Age: Unknown  
Height: 5'9 (175.26 cm)  
Hair Color: Red  
Eye Color: Blue

Description: One year younger than Vegeta, this woman was his best-friend from childhood. She took Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, Trunks, Goten, and Bra on a trip into Vegeta-sei's past. There they stopped the saiya-jin from becoming evil and barbaric and she learned that she was a demi-god and the Creator.

* * *

**~Chapter 1: The Thief of Time~**

Katrinka was lost though she didn't want to admit it to herself. She was the Time Warrior, a master! How the heck could she be lost? But she was and it was all because of her Time Key.

The device had been invented for the sole purpose of making her job easier. Well, it *would* make her job easier if she knew how to use the darn thing. She hadn't been a Time Warrior for long when she was notified about the Thief and went on a mission to stop it.

"I'm going to try again," she said as she took a few deep breaths, "and this time I'm *not* going to fail." Once again bending time, she opened yet another portal and stepped through. The light of it blinded her for a moment and she emerged high above a city. She looked around at it for a moment before breaking out into a huge grin.

"Satan City! I'm finally here!" Locating the Capsule Corporation in the distance, she flew off in its direction with her tail waving behind her.

***

"GOHAN! COME HERE QUICK!" Bulma shouted with excitment as her project partner hurried into lab.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Did something go wrong?"

She shook her head while motioning to the computer monitor. "Everything's right! Very, *very* right!" Gohan looked at the information on the screen and broke out into a smile to match Bulma's.

"We've finally done it!" he cheered while hugging Bulma. "We're going to get Nobel prizes for this one!"

"Now wait a second, Gohan," she said. "We haven't tested this on anyone yet so we don't know the side-effects. Helll, we don't even know that it works!"

"But we've tested and tested on plants, living things, and nothing ever happened to them."

"They're plants, Gohan. Not human beings." She twisted a ring on her finger in worry. "I'm going to ask Vegeta to be the first to take it. He's saiya-jin so if something should go wrong he might be able to fight it off. He wants immortality anyway."

"What are we going to call them? I would suggest "Pills of Immortality" but that really sounds stupid."

She smiled. "We'll come up with something."

No one knew what they had been doing with the water Goten and Vegeta had brought back from the springs of Agalar but, then again, no one ever asked. There first project had been on the water from the Spring of Longevity and, after many long months, it was successful. At least, both Bulma and Gohan *believed* that it was. They had strived to create a pill of immortality that, after one dose, could safeguard a person from natural death. It wouldn't stop death by physical violence but it did increase the standard of living. The two scientists had studied extensively the properties of the magical water, calling Kallen when they needed help. She warned them about the possible negative effects that could occur when science and magic met but so far they had encountered nothing. Then Bulma put the finishing touches on the project and gave them a reason to celebrate.

"Vegeta-san's a full-blooded saiya-jin, Bulma-san," Gohan said with a frown. "It might not work on him. We *did* create this for ningen after all." Walking over to the small refrigerated unit they kept the final project in, he put on gloves and undid the latch that held the door closed. "I will test it out."

"Gohan no!" She stopped his hand. "Let me do it."

"You have children, Bulma-san."

"So do you!" They stared at each other for a moment before staring at the pill. "Do we trust our skills?" she asked him.

Goha nodded. "I trust both of our skills."

"Then we have nothing to be afraid of." Gohan didn't hesitate. He placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it dry. "I hope."

Nothing bad was happening that they could see but it could all be internal anyway. Then Gohan flinched and that made Bulma study his face.

"Are you trying to hide the pain?" she asked with worry. "Don't act so tough, Gohan. Tell me where it hurts."

He shook his head and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

"No you are not!" She pushed him toward the examination table in the back of the room. "I'm checking you out right now."

Gohan gave in. "It's my stomach but it just feels like gas pain."

"I'm going to examine you anyway, Gohan. Maybe the pill just screws with your digestive system a bit. It'll be great if the only side-effect was severe gas." She motioned for him to remove his lab coat and shirt while she gathered some things. "Tell me exactly where it hurts." She poked and prodded his abdomen and noticed his body shaking. "Am I making it worse?"

"Iie..." he gasped out. "You're tickling me!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm taking an X-Ray so we can see for sure." Two X-Rays and twenty minutes later they, indeed, discovered that it was only gas. She made him go lie down for a while and he promised to return later for a full examination to see if his body was altered because of the pill. If things went well there could be a full-scale production by the end of the month.

***

Trunks was struggling with three boxes of files and his briefcase as he left the Capsule Corporation that afternoon. Early summer was always the time people wanted to invest in Capsule stock though he had no idea why. Now Trunks, as the President of Capsule Corp., had a lot of paperwork to do.

He hated paperwork.

"Why can't kaasan do this stuff? She's better at it than I am!" He reached into his pocket for his capsule car. It was hard to fly home with paper: the wind tended to blow them everywhere. He pressed the button at the top and, with a small explosion of smoke, his red sportscar appeared. And so did someone else.

"Trunks!" Katrinka shouted as she ran to him. He blinked in confusion and eyed her warily.

"Who are you and what do you want? Is it an autograph or something?"

"You don't remember me?" she asked. "Why don't you remember me? It's Kat-chan! Vegeta's best-friend!"

Trunks was shocked. "Papa has a friend?"

Laughing she said, "That was your exact reaction before."

"Before? Before what?" He unlocked his trunk and stuffed everything inside. "Now listen, lady. I have no idea who the heck you are. I don't even believe what you say about being Papa's friend." He got into his car and started the engine. "But you might as well get in and come along. We'll clear all of this up."

Now it was her turn to be confused. "Come along? Come along where?"

"To the palace of course!" He glanced at her. "You act as if you don't know that papa is king."

"King? As in king of *Chikyuu*?!"

"Hai, lady. Where have you been the past seven months?" He pulled away from the curb and zoomed down the street, doding traffic like a pro. "Where are you from? I've never seen you around before."

"I was born on Vegeta-sei," she told him, beginning to realize that he truly didn't know her. "Just lately I found out that I'm half saiya-jin."

"Like me?"

"Yeah, like you... in a way. But my other half isn't human. It's god."

That made Trunks slam on the breaks and stare at her in amazement "You're *WHAT*?" he asked, expecting her to say that she was just kidding.

"I'm half god," she repeated. "You really need to get your hearing checked out."

Cars began to honk behind them and Trunks began to move again. "I've got to speak to papa about this one. He usually senses the godly things. He, Goku-san, and Piccolo-san."

The palace rose into the view behind shining black wrought iron gates. Katrinka's eyes widened as she saw the beauty of it and, for once, was left speechless. Trunks opened the gates with a remote control and drove his car up to the house.

"Can you help me carry this stuff inside? I don't want to accidentally drop something and get it mixed up."

Kat shook the awe from herself and nodded. "Sure."

There was a small crowd of people at the stairs when he entered the main hall. Trunks set his stuff in a nearby chair a walked over to join them. Katrinka did the same.

"Are you absolutely, positively sure that tousan is going to be okay?" Pan asked Bulma.

"At this point I would have to say, hai. He only had gas! You people act as if he were dying."

Goten spoke up. "We're just worried seeing as they're still out there." "They" were the Kamoku-jin.

"What's going on? What happened to Gohan?" Trunks asked them. "I'm guessing that it was something lab-related."  
  
"We invented immortality in the form of a pill but didn't know how to test it. After a small argument, Gohan took it himself. The only side-effect, so far, is indigestion. I'm going to check him out later to see if it worked." It was then that she noticed Katrinka. "Oh hello. Who are you?"

"I'm confused," the woman said in frustration. "I studied, I tried, and still I'm not where I should be!"

Bulma smiled. "Well hi Confused. Welcome to the Royal Palace."

"Kaasan, this is..." He turned to her. "I can't call you Kat-chan since I don't know you that well."

"Katrinka," she bowed. "Time Warrior at your service. I came here following the Thief but I seem to be in a different dimension than I thought."

Trunks held up his hand to stop the questions from coming. "This calls for a family meeting, don't you think?"

"I'll go get Bra and Jackie-chan. They should be somewhere with Magori." Pan ran up the stairs and down the hall. Bulma volunteered to get the rest of the parents and Goten went after Mia and V.J.

"I hope this isn't *that* different from what you were looking for," Trunks said as they carried his work up to his room. "But I have a feeling that it is."

"Definitely," she said. "You're the same exact age as the one I knew but seeing as I've never met Gohan or his daughter before..." She shook her head. "I'm just going to kill the Thief and be on my way. I have a husband to get back to."

In the family room the kids were already there. Pan was explaining about her tousan and the meeting when she looked up and smiled.

"I'm Pan," she said. "This is Bra, Jakina, and Magori."

"I've met Bra before and Goku mentioned you, Pan. But I've never even heard of Jakina or Magori before."

"Jackie-chan's my little sis," Trunks said. "Magori's been adopted by Mia." "Who?"

"Goten's little sis."

"Oh...." Katrinka was trying to process all of the new information that she had been given. "See where I come from V-chan only has two kids. So does Goku."

Soon everyone was assembled in the family room. Katrinka was staring at Vegeta, trying to will him to recognize her but of course he didn't. She sighed and decided to just finish her task and get back to the dimension where people knew her.

"I came here following the Time Thief," she began. "Not a very good adventure, believe me. Anyway, it's a being that steals bits and pieces of time and either alters them or destroys them completely. Think of it as a virus. The Thief has no other purpose other than to ruin lives."

"Why did it come here?" Bra asked. "Do we attract all of the evil things or something?" Kat shook her head. "If that was true it probably wouldn't have shown up here. There are many other parallel dimensions with Z-Senshi in them. This sure isn't the only one."

"I don't need to know the reason why it came here," Vegeta said. "I only need to know how to kill it."

"See, that's the problem. No one knows how to kill it. I'm descended from the gods, remember? They're just as clueless in Heaven."

Vegeta snorted. "All things can be killed. I only need an idea. What does the Thief look like?"

Again, she blushed. "We don't know that either and it's not because we're incompetent!"

"Why is it then?"

"It's invisible. No one has ever seen him but we've seen what it can do." She stood up focused her energy on a spot on the wall and used it like a projection screen. "You see this here?" she asked as she brought up a image of the symbolic River of Time. "This is the great River in which everyone's lives flow. I'm talking *every* single possible dimension here and there are infinite possibilities. Think of every water molecule as someone's life. But these rocks in here," she focused on some, "prevent the flow of water in that one area. It displaces the water. That's what the Thief throws in the river once it's stolen the time. The River flows right on around the rocks and tries to keep going. Get too many rocks in there and they act as a dam and halt time completely. We're trying to avoid that."

"When the River stops flowing," Magori asked with more than a little fear, "will we stop too?"

"The worst possible scenario is the stopping of Time. If it, in fact, does stop it will be the end of the universe for the mortals. All godly beings continue on because their fates are not governed by the River."

"We have to do something then," he said. "I don't want to stop!"

Mia put her arm around him. "No one does, Magori-chan. But how are we supposed to fight an enemy that we can't see?"

"That's where I come in," Katrinka said as she dispelled her image. " I can sense the Thief, you see? I'm the only one who can kill it."

"Why is that so?" Gohan asked. "Sensing is sensing."

"The Thief has a unique energy only someone with god blood in them can sense but I still can't do it alone. The Thief commands armies none of which mortals have ever seen the likes before. Once I find it my concentration will be completely focused on it and it alone. That's where you guys come in."

"We're your guardians then." V.J. spoke. "Fine with me. There was nothing good going on around here anyway."

Kat stared at him. "Either you don't understand the seriousness of this or you don't care."

"That's my younger brother," Trunks told her.

"Aah, you're Vegeta's son. That explains everything then."

"What the hell is *that* supposed to mean?" Vegeta Senior asked. "Listen, onna, I have *no* idea who you are. As a matter of fact, I don't believe anything about you being my best-friend-"

"Strawberry ice cream," Kat said with a smile.

"Huh?"

"Your favorite food when you were six was strawberry ice cream. I remember because we used to raid the kitchen late at night after your father was asleep. He wouldn't let you have it because he said that it made you hyper."

Vegeta blinked. "How did you know that?"

"I told you. One of the Vegetas is my best-friend. Apparently I only exist in that universe alone."

"I believe you," Jakina spoke up. "No one would have known that about papa unless they knew him."

Kat grinned. "See? I told you guys that I was his best-friend!" Taking her Time Key from her pocket, she aimed it at the wall. "I'll return tomorrow so be ready. Right now I'm going to learn how to control this thing. Don't know where we could end up if I don't."

"Bye Kat-chan!" Jakina waved. "See you tomorrow!"

"You're a cute little girl, you know that?" Kat's grin grew even wider. "Don't know how you could ever be related to Vegeta." Her laughter grew faint as she stepped through her glowing portal and closed it behind her.

"That onna annoys me," Vegeta muttered as he left the room.

Bulma sighed. "What are we going to do? Do we believe her and stop the Thief or do we take our chances?"

"We stop him!" Magori exclaimed. "We can't lose this one. I don't want to stop."

Goku nodded. "You heard him. We stop the Thief. I don't see any alternative. But not everyone can go on this mission. I'm going, Vegeta's going, Trunks, Goten, and V.J. are going." He shook his head at the kids, including Mia. "You guys *aren't* going."

"Tousan!" Mia protested. "You're being overprotective. I thought that was kaasan's job."

"Fine then. If you want to go you have to prove to me that you'll be needed.

"I look innocent so people won't think I can fight," Jakina spoke up. "That's all I can think of."

Mia knew what she could contribute. "I can go super saiya-jin!" She begging her father with her eyes. "*Please* tell me that's enough."

"It can be," he said as she cheered. "The rest of you will have to stay here."

"I've decided to go too," Gohan told them. "It's time I helped to protect everyone. I'm getting weaker just by staying in the lab all of the time. I contribute my super saiya-jin ability and my mystic saiya-jin one to the cause."

"Gohan!" Videl's hands flew to her mouth. "Tell me that you aren't going."

"I have to, Videl. If the Thief succeeds then we will all no longer exist."

"You aren't coming, Gohan." Goku said. "You're needed here. If all of the fighters come then there will be no one left here to protect everyone." He stopped Bra and Pan's protests. "Hai, I know you two can fight but what if you aren't enough? You don't have nearly as much experience as Gohan does."

Gohan sighed. "Experience hard won."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Goku said, "I would undo what has happened to you over the years if I could. You know that."

"I know, Tousan. But you can't and I had to do it." Everyone fell silent for a long moment until Pan broke it.

"You heard what she said! You guys gotta be ready tomorrow!" She turned to her father. "Tousan, can I fly to Karin's place for some senzu beans? I'll come straight back I promise."

He nodded and after a kiss on the forehead she and Bra were gone.

"Promise me that you're going to come back, Mia," Magori demanded. She kneeled down to his level and shook her head.

"I can't lie to you. All I can promise you is that you'll always be well taken care of. If I do die I can be wished back."

Tears began to flow down his cheeks and he threw himself at Mia with a wail. "Don't go!"

"Magori-chan..." She just held him, unable to think of something to say. She looked to her parents for help but they both shook their heads. She decided to let him cry.

"Is half a day enough time?" Bulma worried. "This is something you've never had to fight before."

"We will be ready," Goku said as he and ChiChi departed. "We have to be."


	2. Departure

**June 20th, AA 001**   
  


The early morning light was just barely filtering through the blinds when everyone was woken up by Goku so it was no surprise it took everyone almost an hour to get ready. Trunks was sharpening his katana when someone knocked on his door.

"Can I come in?" Goten asked. Trunks nodded and cleared a spot on his bed among the clothes and other stuff. "I wanted to talk to you before we left. I might not ever get another chance."

"If you say something like that it might come true," Trunks told him. "I rather like my existence thank you."

"I have something for you." He reached into his shirt pocket. "It's not much but..." A golden heart on two chains glittered in his hand. "I'm going to keep one half of it and you get the other." He handed it to him with a smile. Goten's half had the ending part of a word. "When you join both halves together..." "They form eternity!" Trunks said, eyes wide.

"If we get seperated somehow just call for me. I'll find you, I promise."

Trunks nodded, trying not to show too much emotion. "I promise as well."

There was another knock on the door this time followed by Goku peeking. "We're meeting downstairs in a few minutes. Be ready."

"Sure Tousan," Goten responded and the door closed once more. "Nothing bad is going to happen. Nothing at all."

Smiling, Trunks said. "You don't believe that. I know you."

"Shouldn't that be *my* line?"

"We're leaving now!" Mia shouted as she passed their door. "With or without you!"

"She's not even here yet!" Came V.J.'s voice. "Be patient."

"We should go," Goten said quietly, trying not to think of what *could* happen to them all. He helped Trunks put on his necklace and the older young man did the same. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back."

Two words, unspoken, hung in the air but both were thinking them. 'I hope...'

***

The main hall was filled with somberness when Trunks and Goten finally joined them. Everyone noticed their new jewelry but no one commented on them. Time passed slowly and slower still with each glance at the clock and finally, with a burst of light, a portal appeared in the same spot as before and Katrinka stepped through. This time she was clothed in not her previous outfit of black tunic and leggings but a deep blue jumpsuit with silver stitching. There was a loop at her waist for her Time Key and a small zippered pouch for her Soul Blade orb. She twirled once to show off her new outfit and the kids all clapped in approval.

"Time Warrior gear," she explained. "They made me wear it since this is an official mission from the High God himself."

"They?"

"My kaasan and tousan. Kaasan invented the Time Key and tousan created my clothes. They're really proud of me. Kaasan's the guardian of the death and tousan was kami. They're very important people themselves." She waved the Key at them. "We really should get a move on. The Thief is stationary right now."

There were hugs and tearful farewells all around. Magori had to be pried from Mia's legs by force and he reached out to her from Gohan's arms, begging her not to leave him. Bulma hugged both of her oldest and made them all promise to take care of each other while ChiChi just stood by and observed. She refused to say anything to anyone and Goku was worried about her.

"We'll be back," he said to her.

"You say that now, Goku-sa, but you don't know what's going to happen! If a lose you a third time I don't know what I'll do!" She turned away from him. "If you go now, don't ever think about coming back again."

He was sad but he walked away from her anyway. "I have to go. Saving the lives of others is what I do. It's unfair that I would have to choose between keeping you and saving the lives of billions of people." He sighed. "I had thought that you were better than that but I guess that I was wrong."

She spun around to glare at him, tears glittering in the corners of her eyes. "They can do this without you! You are *not* the deciding factor in this battle!"

"How do you know that?" His voice remained level and calm. "How do you know that the universe won't end with me not there? You don't, ChiChi, and I'm making sure that we never have to find out."

She ran up the stairs with tears flowing down her cheeks. Gohan moved to go after her and Goku held up his hand. "Let her go. She has to understand that sometimes there are more important things than her happiness."

"You've finally decided to stand up to her," Vegeta commented somewhat inappropriately. "I'm impressed."

"I'm tired Vegeta," Goku said wearily. "She does that every single time I have to fight. I should have done this years ago." Abruptly changing the subject, he walked over to Kat's portal. "We need to leave." She nodded and ushered them through.

"Don't step off the path because I haven't linked the other side yet. It's between worlds right now." She bowed to the rest of them and waved goodbye. "I'll bring them all back in one piece hopefully." She raised an eyebrow at the startled looks. "What? I'm not going to lie to you. The chances are still very slim that we'll win but they're a hell of a lot better than they were before."

No one spoke for a moment though the question was just waiting to be asked. "What was it before?" Someone finally spoke. It was Pan.

"Zero percent."

She gulped and spoke again, this time in a shaky voice. "What is it now?"

"Twenty-five."

This renewed Magori's crying. They had just begun studying fractions and percentages in school last school year. He knew it meant that the odds were definitely *not* in their favor. "MIA!" But it was too late. With a final wave, Kat stepped through the portal and closed it behind her.

***

"Keep together people!" She shouted as she led them through the misty on a colorful ever-changing path. "I'll be *really* pissed if I have to go looking for you."

"What would you do exactly?" Vegeta asked. "Would you kill me?"

"It won't come to that, Veggie, if you keep your damn mouth shut!" She glared at him briefly and then continued marching down the fall. Letting out a small exhalation of breath, she apologized. "Being this close to the Thief always makes me tempermental. I think it gives off some kind of mental thing that plays with my emotions."

"Or," Vegeta said underneath his breath, "it could be the fact that you're an onna." Both Trunks and Goten moved away from him and just in time. Katrinka was there with an enraged look on her face, katana in hand. The tip of the long blade was against Vegeta's throat before he barely had time to blink.

"Do you care to repeat that?" she asked very sweetly. He shook his head slowly so as not to accidentally cut himself. "Good." Then she became cheerful again, running ahead to the portal. "We're almost there!"

The landscape was blasted and barren, desolate and dusty. Kat immediately put up a protective barrier around herself and her helpers so that the blowing sand wouldn't choke them. Her crankiness was becoming stronger and she knew that they were getting closer to the Thief. 'Please don't make me mad,' she silently begged the people following her. She had no idea what she would do.

"You can't feel it?" she asked, her hand above her eyes to shade them from the harsh glare of the noon sun. She wished that she knew enough magic to send the heat away. "Its energy I mean."

"I feel nothing," Vegeta admitted. "To me there's no one, or nothing, out there."

"I feel something very small and not evil exactly," Goku frowned in concentration. "Feels lost to me."

"Lost? Of all things you could say Tousan you pick lost!" Mia rolled her eyes. "I say we just find it and kill it. No thought, or sensing, required."

"Planning first, killing later." Katrinka motioned them to her. "The Thief isn't stupid so you guys don't attack it at all. That means you Vegeta. No, 'I can do this without anyone's help' behavior. You will die that way."

"I am not a baka." He told her. "I don't do kamikaze missions."

Trunks snorted. "Not anymore."

She silenced them all with a look. "I will attempt to distract it so that no dread armies will be called. If this doesn't work prepare for the worst battle of your lives." Vegeta started to say something and she interrupted him. "This *will* be the worst battle of your lives. Believe me on this." Goten edged closer to Trunks, worried look on his face. It was not lost on Kat. "Just stay together," she told them. "You're a team, I understand that. Goku and Vegeta will fight as a team and so will Mia and V.J."

"I *always* get stuck with him!" She instantly complained when he gave her a smirk.

"I'm only grouping people by similarities in power. You're not getting married, you know." She pointed in the direction where the Thief was currently located. "Over there is the Time Thief. Remember: Let me handle it and you guys watch out for any of its people." Crouching down behind a sand dune, she slowly began to move around so that the Thief wouldn't see her.

"I don't see anything," V.J. whispered.

"The Thief's invisible dumb ass," Mia replied with no small amount of annoyance. "Bulma's intelligence genes must have passed you over. You are the dumbest, most retarded-"

"It sees us!" Katrinka hissed. No one else saw any difference in the appearance of the desert until the sand suddenly began to part and flow to the sides like water. The Thief was passing through it, shoving the sand aside with minimal effort. Kat ran towards the trench, her katana in her hand. The air shimmered like water and suddenly she was frozen in her place. In less time than it took a ningen to blink she was unfrozen. But that was all the time the Thief needed. It was gone.

"New power," she muttered as she went back to the others. "It can halt time for only specific people."

She had not been the only one stopped in her place by the Thief's power but she was sure the only one moving around after it had gone. It hadn't known who, or what, she was or it wouldn't have bothered. Kat controlled time it did not control her. The bad thing was that the Thief did as well. She waved her hand once and her companions were once again mobile.

"It's gone!" Mia blinked. "I lost some time there. That can't be good."

"Don't worry about it for now," Kat said to calm her worries. "You all lost around sixty seconds."

"Excuse me?!"

She sighed. "A power I hadn't known about. It stopped time for you guys. It tried the technique on me but I am Time's master."

"What *do* you know about it besides the fact that we can't see it and it steals time?" Trunks asked.

"Nothing except for the freeze thing. We're all going into this pretty blind." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Look on the bright side: If Time *does* stop, I can start it again."

"Oh joy!" Vegeta exclaimed sarcastically. "We have to put all of our trust in you. I don't trust people lightly, you know."

"I swear to do my best to kill the Thief and will restart Time if necessary. *My* Vegeta and my husband, Gavin, is counting on me. I'm not the kind of person who does things half-assed." Her blue eyes focused on his dark ones. "I swear by everything created and by the High God that I will do all that I can to stop it for good."

Vegeta nodded. "Good enough."

She opened yet another portal. "Be vewy, vewy qwiet. I'm hunting wabbits." She grinned. "Sorry, too much Chikyuu-jin television. Elmer Fudd always did crack me up."

"If all gods are like her then we're doomed." V.J. sighed.

"I heard that you know!" She looked back at him. "I can act adult. Sometimes." She changed her methods and had the portal fold inward around them instead of everyone walking through. After they once again appeared in the mist realm, her tail reached into her pocket and grabbed a small tape recorder.

"One *does not* have to walk through a portal despite what they say."

"Are you still in training?!" Goten asked in shock.

"No, no it's not like that at all." She could only keep the serious face for a moment. "Okay, it is. I haven't been Time Warrior for that long. Only about a few months old Vegeta-sei time. I know a lot of stuff because they say that I was originally born the Creator." She laughed. "It's actually a pretty funny story. Do you want to hear it?"

"Kat-chan..." Trunks began.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." She began walking towards what seemed like a wall of mist. Another portal began forming as they approached. "Moving on."

Right before they were all about the reach the end of the path, she turned around face suddenly devoid of humor. "There are some ground rules when visiting the Spirit Realm. You don't touch *anything* unless I say that it's okay, Enma-sama is *always* busy so it's not wise to bother him, and you show proper respect to all immortal beings. Including me. They have some really strange feelings about that."

"I remember," Goku nodded. "Kaio-sama was always reprimanding me about the Dai Kaio."

"Who is the highest god?" Mia asked. "Is it Kaioshin?"

"Nope." She grinned at them, humor back full-blown. "I am." Then they were through the portal and there were no more questions.

***

The phone hadn't stopped ringing since Vegeta left and there was only so much that Bulma could do. Currently she was trying to edit a final copy of the Royal Law though it couldn't go to print without Vegeta and Goku's signatures. Every member of the Council had to sign it as well as the members of the Inner Circle. Bulma, Vegeta, Goku, ChiChi, Gohan and over ten others were going to sign. People were calling about something *very* bad and she had three people on hold already.

"Gohan! Get in here!" she shouted from Vegeta's office.

The first, third, and seventh call had been from the Tale-sejin. They were the newest members of the Chikyuu-sei Alliance (Bulma made Vegeta change the name) but they had the most problems. Tale-sei was the closest of them all to the Kamoku-jin homeworld and they were having problems with them. Jas, Taura, and a large group of Death Chasers from neighboring planets were holding them off currently but they didn't know how long they could last.

"We don't want to sink down to their level!" Taura shouted over the explosions made up most of the background noise. "You taught us that, Bulma-ouhi! Killing is not always the answer!"

"Are you past the reasoning stage?" she asked.

He nodded as spoke when there was a brief period of silence. "That was several hours ago. We sent a transmission to their mother ship but received no reply. I don't think they understood us."

"Where is Kallen now?" Bulma asked. She knew what she had to do. There was no one on Chikyuu that she could send to aid them. No one at all.

"She left a few days ago for Alia. Kally said that she wanted to speak with her parents because she was due back to the Army soon."

"The Imperial Army!" Bulma exclaimed. "Hold on for ten minutes, Taura. I may have help for you." She opened another line and dialed up Kallen on her ship.

"Commander Kallen of the Rhistal Imperial Army," she said in a bored voice. "How may I serve you today?"

"Kally! Taura and Jas need your help." The woman's silver eyes instantly went from sleepy to focused and she nodded at Bulma to go on. "The Kamoku-jin attacked Tale-sei and I don't have anyone to send to help them. Goku and Vegeta are unavailable at the moment."

"They've recently promoted me," Kallen told her as she slowly switched to officer mode. "At first I just felt tired because of all the extra work but now it'll come in handy. I'll speak to the general and try to get more than just my platoon over there. I'll contact you with an update soon. Kallen out."

After telling Taura that help would soon be on the way, she finally had a chance to ask the Lyz'da about what they needed. Gohan took the call from her after having entered the room without her noticing and told her to get some rest. He would handle everything else.

"Arigatou, Gohan," she yawned. "You're a big help." She stumbled off to bed worrying about the Tale-sejin and their problem.


	3. Granted Wishes

**June 20th, AA 001**   
  


No one knew how long it had taken them to reach the upper levels and really no one cared. As long as they were free from their inprisonment it could take an eon or two. The one who led the way varied with the general group mood. When Bardock became too annoying they would let him lead if only to stop him from accusing everyone of the death of Vegeta-sei. When he was at last quiet Vegeta-oui was allowed to take over again. That system worked for many moments and everything was fine.

Time was not the only thing they had lost count of. The levels of Hell went by very quickly at the pace that they travelled and, again, no one had even bothered to keep count. The saiya-jin could tell that they were close escaping because the level of torment they saw wasn't as bad as what they had been going through on a daily basis. It was almost gentle by comparison.

In the beginning, soon after the destruction of Vegeta-sei, there had been millions of saiya-jin. Short ones, tall ones, fat ones, thin ones; they had come in almost every possible shape and size imaginable. There was even talk of creating a new saiya-jin empire, one that would dominate Hell and force the demons, ogres, and Hell-beasts into slavery, but those hopes were soon dashed by the breaking of the people.

Prior to contrary belief not all saiya-jin were top-notch warriors. There were a lot of weak ones throughout the classes but the reverse was also true. Unfortunately a pretty large percentage of the saiya-jin race consisted of the weak-minded ones. They were gone within a short period of time. The minds of thirty-five thousand were destroyed almost immediately. That left the strong-minded and the even stronger-minded.

The ogres and demons became creative. They began asking questions that they knew no one knew the answers to. You were cut for every second that you hesitated with a poison-tipped blade and cut even more for every answer that you got wrong. The poison wouldn't kill but would keep its victim in constant state of extreme pain. The elite saiya-jin figured out a way to confuse the torturers by always repeating the questions back. This left fifty.

The ones that remained were patiently waiting in their underground cell for the final breaking, the one that would put an end to the mighty saiya-jin race. A short while before Furiza and several other incredibly strong people had appeared in Hell and had taken over. The remaining saiya-jin were herded into a smallish cell underneath their own village and a well was constructed around the entrance to hide it. There Bardock launched into his tirades and there they waited for inevitable.

Before their torture, before another saiya-jin was mentally broken down into his basic elements, Son Goku had come to the rescue. He and two saiya-jin hybrids had literally ripped the cell door from its hinges and set them free. After the once-caged saiya-jin were sure that Furiza wasn't around to stop them, they started their journey to ask Enma-sama for resurrection.

"I swear, Bardock, if you say one more word about the destruction of Vegeta-sei I will maim you." Vegeta-oui didn't even turn around to address him but continued to climb the Stairway to Heaven. All thought that they had only a small chance to recover their lives but no one would ever know for sure until they had tried.

***

"Good day Creator," said an ogre in flowing robes before bowing. "How goes your mission?" Katrinka sighed and looked away. It was all the answer that he needed. "I see..." "I'm still documenting all of the Thief's powers. That alone might take some time." She shook her head. "But we don't have any to waste."

"You will triumph," he told her as he moved on. "You have to."

"I know."

She led them to the administrative section of Heaven, not even bothering to comment along the way. Every being they passed bowed respectfully but Kat barely noticed. More people and places passed by until finally they approached an official looking building with a small female ogre sitting at a reception desk.

"How may I- Oh hello Kat! I didn't expect you back so soon."

Katrinka smiled weakly. "Neither did I. Where are my parents? I would like a meeting with them."

It took only a moment for her to look in the appointment book. "Kathy's doing transistions and Appuru's in a meeting. Is this urgent?"

A nod. "Very much so."

"I'll put it through immediately and tell them to come to your office. Should only take a few moments."

"Thank you, Dailia. You're a big help."

The wait for the elevator took some time so it was perfect for questions. Kat watched the glow of the numbers as the car went down floors and told them everything that they wanted to know.

"This is the administation building for Heaven. All those who keep the realm running smoothly have offices here. I didn't want an office but kaasan made me." The elevator dinged and they all stepped inside, barely fitting. "Heaven is divided into three main sections: Administrative, Residential, and Recreation. The residential section is the largest but, at least in my opinion, the recreational is the most enjoyable. Having a good time in the administrative section is like getting your teeth pulled." When the car stopped on the fifth floor she led them down three dark green carpeted halls to yet another elevator. It was decorated with golden trim and there were no numbers to indicate the floors. She inserted her Time Key into a small lock and the door opened silently. It alone led to her office.

The color theme consisted of her favorite colors of black and dark gray though there was a little touch of red and white thrown in. A black lacquer desk with a black leather swivel chair stood in front of a huge window and two couches and a coffee table set on one side. She told them all to sit and opened the heavy curtains to allow light.

"You can get in contact with Chikyuu if you want," she told them. "I don't know how long it'll be before you'll be able to speak to them all again."

"Call the palace and get the onna on the phone then. I want to see if she's handling everything."

Katrinka hit a button on a remote that revealed a large monitor set into the wall. She stared at it for a moment, eyes unfocusing, and soon Gohan's face appeared on the screen in realistic color and size.

"If you need something I don't think we can help you... Oh! Konichi-wa minna." He smiled. "Good to see you."

"Is something going on?" Goku asked more than a little worriedly. "You're not been attacked or anything are you?"

"Chikyuu is fine, Tousan, but Tale-sei isn't. The Kamoku-jin are attacking them and we don't have anyone here to send there. On the bright side, though, Kallen said that she would take a sizable force over. They made her a commander so she has the authority now."

"Tell them that we're all rooting for them," Goku said. "I wish that I could do something more."

"They should be able to get through this without a serious decrease in their population. Kallen called back just a few minutes ago to say that she would bring clerics and mages. Tale-sei doesn't have enough fighters to win without magical help." He looked down for a brief moment. "I sent Bulma-san to bed. She was looking stressed. Both the Namek-jin and the Lyz'da also need assistance. I'm going to have Videl take over for a while so that I can do more work in the lab. We need more people who are able to help on this planet." They talked for a few moments more and the call was disconnected.

Something buzzed and continued to do so until Kat pushed a red button. "Yes, Dailia?"

"Kat your parents are on their way. We also have a bid for resurrection at Enma-sama's. He told me to tell you that he's strongly considering saying yes."

"On my way." Kat released the button and smiled. "Must be important people if Enma is going to agree. He *never* agrees with anything or anyone. Stay right here and I'll be back before you know it."

"We do *not* have forever," Vegeta said to her. "*All of these side trips you're taking is wasting time."

"I have a mission, Vegeta, but I also have a regular job. This doesn't all just go away when something more important comes along as much as I would like it to. Resurrection is my buisness seeing as I'm the Creator. Once they get too dead for the dragonballs it becomes my responsibility." She hit another button on her remote before disappearing into a portal with an order. "Be kind to my parents. I mean it."

" 'I mean it'," Vegeta mocked. "Who does she think she is anyway?"

"The ultimate giver of life," a woman with flowing red hair said as she approached them. "She's the ultimate taker as well."

"You must be Kathy," Goku said as he stood and bowed. "I'm Son Goku."

"Yes," she said. "I know. He is Vegeta and these are your children." She glanced at everyone for a brief moment but her cold blue eyes lingered on Vegeta the longest. "You don't understand who she is and what she is capable of."

Vegeta smirked. "You sound afraid. The parents aren't supposed to be afraid of the child."

"She is our child, yes," Appuru said as he joined them. He was a very tall but thin saiya-jin with spiky jet-black hair and intelligent eyes. "But she is *always* the Creator first. You haven't heard the story?" There was a lot of head shaking.

"Eons and eons ago at the start of the universe there was only one god and her name was Kaitlyn. She had come from a realm full of creator gods who all had something original to call their own but Kaitlyn did not for everything was claimed. She searched and searched for many millennia for a place to call her own and finally discovered one place of chaos that had not been claimed. Kaitlyn set about taming the chaos, which also took millennia, and then created satellites and stars.

"Though she now had something to claim she still felt alone and empty. Kaitlyn then began to create living beings in many different sizes, colors, and species and gave them free-will so that they would be able to shape their own destinies and not walk preset paths. The Creator made plants, animals, and water to sustain the life of her people so that they would have even more people and she would never be lonely again."

"How is Katrinka also the Creator?" Mia asked.

"Hold on," he smiled. "I am getting to that part. In just a few hundred generations the People became too numerous in number for Kaitlyn to manage alone. She summoned more beings, lesser gods, to her universe for help. Then she appointed the Kaioshins, the Dai Kaio, the Kaios, and the Kamis to rule over the four sections of the universe, the galaxies, the solar systems, and the planets respectively.

"Millennia passed and with each one Kaitlyn felt more and more detached from her people. She made an important decision to turn herself into a spirit and enter the body of one unborn child that the new High God, or Dai Kaioshin, had chosen. Katherine, the guardian of the dead, was a trusted friend and she gave one man the great honor of fathering the child. Thus Katrinka was born and does not remember anything she had done as the Creator."

"The expression on her face was *very* amusing indeed," Kathy laughed. "She didn't believe us at first but then why should she?"

"So *that's* what she meant by 'it's a very funny story'," Goten said with a shake of his head. "She has a weird sense of humor."

"So we've noticed," Kathy said dryly. "Kaitlyn was *never* that goofy."

Appuru suddenly laughed, elicting strange looks from everyone else. "The day Vegeta-oui took her in for us was very amusing. Would you like to hear the tale?"

"Sure!" V.J. said. "It'll help pass the time, anyway."

"We arrived at the royal palace on Vegeta-sei very late that night..."

***

"Who is the bidder?" Katrinka asked as she stepped before Enma's desk. "Did they save several planets from total destruction?"

"No, Kat. They are the saiya-jin and they have done nothing physically to deserve it."

She blinked. "Then why do you think they should get it?"

Enma sighed. "Look at them as the Creator and not as a demi saiya-jin woman. Furiza, Kold, and several others have reduced their number from millions to just fifty. They should get *something* for just going through that and coming out the other side minds intact."

"I see..." She turned around to look at the bunch of them. "I am Katrinka better known as the Creator or the Time Warrior to most folks up here. I'm the one you find when it becomes too late for resurrection by the dragonballs."

"You are going to grant us our wish?" Vegeta-oui asked, not really thinking that she would. She smiled slowly and brought up her hands.\

"This will explain everything." Her hands began to glow with a soft yellow light as she walked over closer to them. Vegeta-oui and several others had time to think, 'This is going to hurt...' before she was upon them. She sent the glow over to them, taking part of her immortal life and giving it to the small group of saiya-jin. After it had dissapated they looked around in confusion until they noticed that they were now haloless.

"You did it!" Bardock said, really surprised. "I didn't think we had a snowball's chance in Hell."

She turned away from them and that was when they saw her red-furred tail. "You may all be saiya-jin but I happen to half that anyway. I shared sympathy with you. No one deserves torture by the creative hands of Furiza." She opened a portal. "But remember to be grateful for all of your days. What life I gave I can also take away." Kat vanished with a flash of light and Enma-sama turned to the group with a neutral face.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked.

There was much glancing between the saiya-jin and finally one of them spoke up. "We can't go back to Vegeta-sei because it doesn't exist anymore. Can you send us to Chikyuu-sei? To wherever Vegeta-ouji lives. We want to join his empire."

"He's not in at the moment but talk to Son Gohan. He's the only official besides the queen still around."

"Still... around? Don't tell me that they're dead!" Vegeta-oui said with a shout.

Enma laughed. "No, Vegeta. They're only on a mission. A very important one at that." He pushed a button on his desk and shouted one word into it. "Kami!"

Dende appeared a split-second later. "You rang?" He made sure not to waste any time. Enma-sama had no excess love for gods of planets.

"Take these saiya-jin to the palace. You know which one."

"Okay, sure." Dende motioned them over. "Now stay together. There's so many of you that it's going to take a lot of effort."

"Many, huh?" Vegeta muttered. "This isn't many compared to the ones we've lost by the hands of Furiza and his minions."

"I'm sorry," Dende said, feeling slightly sad. He had experienced fear, pain, and death by Furiza himself. He could relate.

"Don't be. We're not going to let our hatred of him make us give up any hope for living." Dende smiled tentively and took them all to their destination in Satan City.

***

"Just jump, Magori. It's not that hard with one rope." Pan told him from the sidelines. Bra had one end of the jump rope while Jakina had the other. "Do you need me to show you again?"

"Iie, I think I have it." The rope came around and he was startled by the appearance of a large group of people. Tripping over the rope, he fell to the ground. "Who are they?"

"I have no idea," Pan said while backing away. "TOUSAN! THERE'S SOME WEIRD PEOPLE OUT HERE!"

"Hi Dende!" Jakina said cheerfully. "Who're they?"

"These are the saiya-jin that have just gotten resurrected by the Creator. She thought that they deserved it."

"Oh? You met Kat-chan?" Gohan appeared at the front door and almost had a heart-attack.

"What are a bunch of saiya-jin doing on the front lawn?" he asked in confusion. "I could have sworn that Raditzu and Nappa were dead."

"They aren't anymore!" Pan began to walk around them slowly, examining everyone. She stopped at Bardock. "Why do you look like Goku-ojiichan and Goten-ojisan?"

"I am Bardock," he said as he kneeled down to her level. Gohan was tempted to grab his daughter and run far, far away. "Kakarotto's father. You must be my great-granddaughter."

She nodded. "I'm Son Pan. That's my tousan over there with Magori, Bra Briefs, and Jakina Briefs." She saw Vegeta for the first time. "I guess the girls are your granddaughters then."

"I have more family?" Vegeta asked. "Does Vegeta have a mate?"

"Yep. Bulma-san's taking a little rest right now since these people are driving her insane."

"She is ningen?" Pan nodded and he didn't know how he felt about that.

"Are they bonded?"

Pan had no idea what that was and neither did anyone else. She shrugged and turned to her tousan for help.

"Come with me. You should be hungry since you haven't eaten in over forty years." He shook his head. "Finding enough food for fifty saiya-jin and four demi-saiya-jin is going to be rough."

"We could go hunting," Nappa suggested.

Gohan protested immediately. "NO! I mean," he continued in a quieter voice as they walked through the throne room, "most ningen consider that uncivilized. Vegeta-san has an image to protect."

"Not even being here is *really* helping things," Vegeta said sarcastically. "There should be fanfare and a great feast."

"If we knew that you were coming then there would have been something ready." The saiya-jin took the numerous seats around the table but there were still lot standing. The kids and Gohan went to find more chairs just as ChiChi and Videl emerged from the kitchen.

"Videl," ChiChi said slowly as she eyed the large group. "am I going insane or do you see all of the saiya-jin too."

She younger woman nodded. "I see, ChiChi-san, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I believe."

"Are one of you Bulma?" Vegeta asked.

Both shook their heads, still not believing. Gohan chose that time to reappear and then tried to exit again once he saw his wife and mother's faces.

"Son Gohan!" Then said in unison, sounding remarkably alike.

"Kaasan, Dende brought them here. I had *nothing* to do with it." His eyes darted between the two. "You have to believe me!"

"Look, he's afraid of two ningen women," Raditzu whispered with a laugh. "Demi-saiya-jin are pathetic." Before he could say another word, his mother was standing beside him.

"Are you insulting my son?" ChiChi asked as she raised her frying pan. "You *don't* want to insult my son."

"What? Are you going to do something about it?" The fying pan came down with great force upon his skull. Raditzu cringed and jumped away from her.

"That *hurt* lady!"

"My name is Son ChiChi!" She hit him again. "You will address me with respect!" He ran from her and she chased him, yelling all the way.

"That is why we're all afraid of her," Gohan said solemnly. "She is insane."

All had new found respect for Goku, Goten, and Gohan for having put up with her for so many years.


	4. The Kamoku-jin Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about Bob the Keekle. Let's say that the kids are keekle-sitting him while Goten's away.
> 
> I'm dedicating this chapter to G-Kun Son for her great review of this fanfic.

**June 21st, AA 001**   
  


Appuru was barely into his third story when Katrinka returned to her office. Smiling at her father, she casually made her way over to take a seat.

"That's all taken care of," she glanced meaningfully at Vegeta. "It seems there were some saiya-jin that wanted resurrection."

He blinked, more than a little shocked. "What was the outcome?"

"I gave it to them. Furiza is an asshole."

Goku grinned at her. "You're saying that as if we didn't already know."

The Time Warrior slash creator god slash saiya-jin hybrid folded her long-fingered hands and stared at the assembled group. "Kaasan, we have a problem. It's not very big right now but it has the potential to become bad in the future." She began to explain about the abilities of the Time Thief that she had just discovered. "You've been around for a long while. Can you tell me anything that could help?"

Raising one fine eyebrow at the 'long while' comment, Kathy thought for a moment. "I have never seen a being like this before. *No one* has ever seen a being like this before. You're on your own in this one, Kat-chan. I apologize for that."

"So do I." Appuru placed one large hand on top of his daughter's. "We have faith in you, Katrinka. You have goodness on your side."

"What if that isn't enough?" she asked, not daring to look up at anyone. "What if, for the first time ever, Good doesn't emerge the victor over Evil?"

"You can't think that way," Trunks said firmly. "As soon as you begin to wonder about the 'what ifs' you lose hope."

Tears slowly made tracks down Kat's cheeks and she silently cursed at herself for showing weakness in front of others. She was a demi-god, the Creator even, she had to be the one always in control. Trunks reached out a hand to comfort her but it hesitated directly above her bowed head. "I don't know what to do anymore," she admitted softly. "At first I thought that I would always have the answers seeing as everything in existence emerged from my mind and by my will but I don't even remember my time as Kaitlyn the Creator. What happened to my memories? Will they ever come back?" She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I feel so weak and helpless against the Thief. I *hate* feeling weak and helpless!"

Vegeta began to laugh and everyone started abruptly at the unexpected sound. At first it was only a low chuckle but it quickly grew into a loud belly laugh that made Katrinka's blood run hot and her hands itch to strangle him so that the sound would die. Just when she was close to moving, he wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke. "Do all onnas live to make things complicated when there is a simple solution?"

"Just what do you mean by that?" the goddess growled in a low voice. It sounded too animalistic for her throat to be the source. Her ki rose sharply with her burning rage, changing to a crimson color to match her mood. Heaven, Hell, and the Universe beyond all paused for a moment wondering what caused the sudden pressure that they felt in the very air around them. Katrinka could suddenly feel her beings, feel the fear that she was causing them, and instantly lost her anger at the saiya-jin prince. Nothing was worth more to her than the happiness and contentment of everyone and everything that she had given life to. Kat realized what had happened and her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"That shouldn't have happened," she whispered to herself. "That link should never happen between me and Creation."

Her mother spoke gently but straight to the point. "It happened because you are the Creator. You are the one that they thank for giving life and you are their only hope stopping the Thief from taking it away."

Kat felt the Thief moving in Time, finding another piece to steal. She felt it rip a hole as a physical pain and cried out softly. Yet another space in time and yet another weight in her soul. "The Thief is nothing that I have created," she said in a voice both familar and foreign. "It forms from the hunger of the starving, the fear of the dying, and the hoplessness of the people. As long as there is no peace in the Universe, no balance in the hearts of the people, it will exist. The Thief of Time feeds on the negative energy the People emit and uses the energy to solve the problems." Her eyes softened and a look of wonderment came upon her face. "It's only trying to help."

***

"What are we going to do with them?" Bulma said as she rubbed her forehead. She and Gohan were in the lab still working on the project from before. "We now have fifty saiya-jins that can eat enough food to feed a small country for a week and absolutely nowhere to put them."

Gohan typed as he spoke, eyes scanning the scientific code quickly. "I've been thinking of a solution to that problem, Bulma-san. They can help us." He handed her a chart without pausing in his work. "That is the basic DNA structure of a saiya-jin. It is what makes them different from ningen but also makes them able to interbreed. If we can create artificial saiya-jin DNA and find a way to add to an already existing genetic code then we could create more saiya-jins."

Bulma looked at him as if he had gone insane. "Why the hell would we want to do that? What Chikyuu *doesn't* need is billions of saiya-jins eating everything!"

"Saiya-jins eat a lot to sustain their high metabolisms." He grinned. "I know that from experience. We get weak very quickly when we're hungry." He entered one last bit of code and saved his work. "I want them to form our army until the volunteer ningen can be trained and given the saiya-jin genes. Fighting to a saiya-jin is like swimming to a fish: it comes naturally."

The queen studied the paper once more, glad that the information was written in a way that the saiya-jin could understand without a detailed explanation. They were in the backyard sparring (or so Vegeta had said) and the kids were all watching. Pan was probably *participating*.

"I'm going to get the pharmaceutical company on the phone and see when I can fax over the information. So far everything is turning out okay."

The beeping of the communication monitor caught both of their attention. Bulma hit the button and Kallen's face appeared on the screen, covered in dust and blood. Bulma gasped softly and the woman immediately launched into a quickly spoken report.

"We have an even bigger problem now," she said with more than a little weariness. "One of the rifts is opening again and not by mortal means. Hundreds of skeletal riders on black steeds pour through the hole spreading death and destruction wherever they go. I had no idea where our forces were disappearing to until Jas said that the Riders erase existences. You can see evidence on the battlefield that people were there by the weapons and clothing but I couldn't name someone to save my life." Her silver eyes stared at Bulma, completely devoid of sorrow now. "Where are Vegeta-oui and General Goku?"

"Away," Bulma said softly. "They can't help you now." There was another call on a second line and something told Bulma to answer it. "Hold on for just one moment, Kallen. I have another call. Moshi moshi?"

"You don't know me, Bulma-ouhi, but I am Appuru," the man spoke to her in a pleasant tone that made Bulma like him instantly. "Katrinka's my daughter."

Bulma smiled at him. "What can I do for you?"

"Our problem has not been solved but we think we may have a way to at least still the effects. Is there a major battle going on somewhere that you know of?"

"On Tale-sei there is one between the Tale-sejin and the Kamoku-jin. Kallen has just contacted us with news about Riders joining the war."

"Oh dear," Appuru said sadly. "There may not be any hope then." Gohan's eyes widened behind his glasses and Bulma's face paled.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "There's always hope."

"There may not be enough time to get to them, Bulma-ouhi. Katrinka is new at her job. I don't think she can locate the correct point on Tale-sei for an exit portal."

"Have her come here with everyone else," Gohan said with an expression of determination familiar to Bulma. "We will take care of the rest."

"If you are able to get Katrinka to Tale-sei it will be enough," he bowed. "Good day, Son Gohan and Bulma-ouhi. May the Creator's light shine upon us and keep us well." The call disconnected and Bulma switched lines.

"Kallen just hold on for a little while longer!" Bulma said to her frantically. "We're coming with help!"

***

Katrinka didn't have any memories from the time she had been the Creator -- or so she thought. Kaitlyn was just a completely different woman that she had never met.

Now her feelings were beginning to change and Kat wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. She had heard the story of how she could be two different people in the same body several times but something just didn't make sense to her. Why did the High God choose Katherine? Was she special in some way or was she just a friend?

Kaitlyn the Creator had come from a realm where wonderous ideas were the norm. She had lived with her parents and older brothers in a beautiful glass and steel home that her mother had designed. Her entire family had at least one original creation to their credit but she did not. Kaitlyn had ideas but nothing that she could call her own.

At school she had been teased mercilessly, the other students comparing her classwork to the architecture of her mother, the art of her father, the stories of her eldest brother, and the poetry of her middle brother. Her ideas were never good enough, never creative enough. Even the instructors had said so themselves. So she had fled her realm and, after millennia of searching, found another.

Many realms had already been taken by various deities but the girl searched for once that was perfect. Chaos swirled in the empty blackness, a force that none before had been able to tame. Kaitlyn was just about to move on when something about the realm appealed to her. So she stopped the Chaos not by destruction but by being kind to it and offering it a place in her universe. It took her a *very* long time but it was worth it. The destructive force coalesced into the form of a man and Kaitlyn assigned him the task of creating a punishment place for the future people that wouldn't reform. Thus Hell came into existence. Kaitlyn, seeking balance, created Heaven so that the good people would also have a place to go.

Between the two realms of the dead there was a emptiness that she yearned to fill. The Creator then formed beings in the shape of her ideas and breathed life into them, giving them the best gift that mortals could receive: free will. After also summoning lesser gods for places in the hierarchy, she watched her people grow, live, and love for countless years never noticing the longing that grew deep inside of her.

Several hundred decades passed and Kaitlyn wished to be able to experience a mortal life at least once. Turning herself into a spirit she had her most trusted god, the Dai Kaio, find a mother suitable for the child. Kaitlyn was eager for a mortal life but also sad because she knew that her memories would be lost until the day of her death. The High God sensed this and acted accordingly. Instead of making the Creator completely mortal, he decided to make her a demi-goddess thus making it possible for her to regain her memories when they were truly needed. Katrinka was born nine months later and was raised on Vegeta-sei without the knowledge of her true parents.

Kat and Vegeta had become close friends from day one seeing as she was the only other child in the palace. For two years the two children drove the king and all of the palace officials insane. Then came the day when Vegeta left go get work from Furiza. She had been five and he had been six.

'V-chan,' she had said that day, 'I won't make you promise to return because even I know you might never get the chance.' She had a bad feeling that day as if something was about to go seriously wrong. After Vegeta had gone to the ship she waited ten minutes before hopping into a stolen space pod without telling anyone. Kat had learned long ago that adult saiya-jin regarded the children as little more than mild annoyances. They would never listen to her, let-alone believe her.

Through the viewport in the space pod Kat watched the only planet she had never known grow smaller and smaller. She had no idea where the pod had been programmed to head toward but hoped that it was someplace nice and had never known the evil of Furiza. Almost a day later, she landed on the nearly forgotten planet of Sentai, discovered by a kind hunter and his dog. He raised her as his own child, showing her the affection and love that she had never received on Vegeta-sei. Katrinka grew up in a peaceful forest with her papa and his dog Blue as her favorite companions. Then he became ill and died, leaving Kat all alone once more.

The bad memories she hated but there were enough good ones to keep a balance. Katrinka only remembered her life on Vegeta-sei vaguely knowing only that V-chan was always right beside her. Even earlier memories, those of Kaitlyn the Creator, would come back in time.

Not paying attention to what was going on around her, Kat was startled when she stepped into the bright sunshine of Chikyuu. She blinked several times and then marched off around the back of the house where she knew that the laboratory was located.

"If you twist a little when you hit someone in the nose," Pan demonstrated the move to thirty or so attentive saiya-jin, "then you'll definitely break it."

"Can you do that with kicks too?" a young saiya-jin in the back questioned her.

"Sure! Do you want me to show you how to dislocate someone's kneecaps in the most effective way? If you're strong enough you can break them."

Katrinka was amused at the sight of a ten-year-old teaching grown men battle techniques. She was considering trying to sneak up behind her but before Kat could even take three steps Pan spoke to her.

"Tousan's waiting for you. Some guy named Appuru called and said that you would be on the way."

"Why is there a large group of saiya-jin here?" Mia asked as she blinked several times, trying to make sure that she just wasn't seeing things.

"They're the ones Kat-chan resurrected!" Pan grabbed one man around the legs. "This is Bardock-sousofu." Bardock was startled for a moment before he smiled and patted her on the head. Affection was hard to get used to.

"You're my ojiisan?" Mia asked. "Well, you *do* look a lot like tousan."

Jakina emerged from the lab, a worried frown on her face. She spotted her papa and without speaking motioned for him to follow her. Vegeta grew worried at her expression and did as she indicated.

"Is it bad?" Goku asked softly. Pan sighed.

"I think so. Jackie-chan actually cried before. I was being battle instructor until you came back because Bulma-obaasan said we might need a lot of fighters. Will you let me fight with you just this once?" Her tone was hopeful but she knew that it was a lost cause.

"Pan-chan..." he trailed off, really thinking about it for once. Pan could handle herself incredibly well for someone her age. "Hai, Pan. You can come too."

Shock flashed across her face. "Can you repeat that, Goku-ojiichan? I don't think that I heard you correctly."

Goku smiled at her. "I'm giving you permission to come. Just don't tell your parents or ChiChi."

"SUGOI!" She jumped into the air with a raised fist. "My first real battle!"

"You mean that you've never fought anyone for real before?" Raditzu asked. "I was younger than you were when *I* first went into battle."

"Oniisan," Goku said to him in a respectful tone. "This isn't Vegeta-sei. We don't send children off to fight wars unless we have no choice. Gohan, Goten, V.J., Trunks, and Mia were all brought up in the middle of battle. It was very fortunate that didn't happen to the younger kids. They didn't fight when the Kamoku-jin attacked and they shouldn't have to fight now."

"They do," Goten said with a sad expression. "and it's horrible. When you have no childhood you never learn how to have enjoy yourself and that's a necessary part of life. Trunks and I always tried to make time for that but niichan didn't get the chance." Trunks took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Katrinka's suddenly stiffened and, with one arm extended, turned slowly to face another direction. There were plenty of confused stares but they knew that she would eventually tell them what she was doing.

"I sense the Thief," she said, eyes narrowed. "In that direction but not on this planet."

"We have to leave *now*!" Vegeta came running. "Things are getting worse on Tale-sei and planets under my protection are not allowed to be destroyed by an evil alien empire. Kakarotto!" Goku nodded and held out his arm.

"Grab on." Everyone, including the group of saiya-jin, laid at least one hand on Goku or an adjacent person and he teleported the large group away from Chikyuu.

Bulma stepped outside to greet Goku and the others and noticed that her backyard was completely empty. "That's odd. I could have sworn that I heard people out here."


	5. Changing Sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Kamoku-jin are speaking in their native language in the beginning but it's translated here so that you can understand. Later on it's not but the translation is at the end of this chapter.

**June 21st, AA 001**  
  


"How goes the mission, Navoran?" the commander asked his lieutenant. He had been put in charge of the latest invasion and was taking careful steps to make sure it was sucessful. Invasions can make or break a commander. If all goes well he could go up a rank, if all does not he could find himself suddenly stripped of his rank and scrubbing latrines back at boot camp. Portl had worked far too hard to allow that to happen.

"So far so good, Commander," Navoran replied respectfully. "Tale should be ours by sunset."

One nearly invisible silver eyebrow rose. "*Should*, Lieutenant?"

As much as he didn't want to say it, he had to let his commander know. "If all goes well, Sir. There seems to be a commotion in the western reaches of this planet. I've heard rumors about skeletal warriors that bring death. My men are fearful."

Portl drew himself up to his full height of nearly seven feet and an outraged look crossed his fine-boned face. While not very kind, the Kamoku-jin had certain qualities about them that people were forever searching for in potential mates. High cheekbones, slenderness, and grace were very common among the people. It was as if their ancient creators, the long-lost Tun'tn, had felt it ironic that their perfection-seeking enemies were defeated by both beauty and evil. Too bad they didn't make sure that the Kamoku-jin wouldn't kill them as well. He beckoned his second closer and Navoran obeyed with hesitation and more than a little fear. When the other man's blue face was mere inches from his own, he stared at him with hardened ruby-red eyes.

"*Never* insult our wonderous race, Lieutenant," he hissed in a low voice. "You may say that *you* are afraid but never include others in your own weak emotion. To do so again will mean a slow death. Am I making myself clear?"

The other man nodded, entire body trembling with the effort not to flee the commander's office. "Crystal clear, Sir." He was grateful for the dismissal Portl bestowed upon him and exited the room as quickly as he could without showing that he was afraid.

Navoran was not a very evil Kamoku-jin but neither was he overly kind. He had risen to the lieutenant position in the army for reasons that were still unknown to even him. He had not desired a high rank of any kind, only to survive in a civilization that had no conscious. That alone took all of one's skill and focus. Even children were taught at a young age to only trust yourself and that anyone who commits a wrong against you does not deserve to live. The children were born and bred to fight in the army and eventually grew up to have no soul.

His parents had been farmers and he had been born and raised outside the largest city on the Kamoku-jin homeworld of Ananci. They were different from most of the Kamoku-jin and, consequently, he grew into a being capable of compassion, friendship, and, above all, love. On the day he came of age he joined the Kamoku-jin army simply because he had no other choice. Both males and females had to submit themselves to tests of the physical and mental nature once they had come of age. If you were healthy you were trained to kill, if you were not you were trained to teach and to farm. As long as you did something that the Empire benefitted from no one would come in the night and slit your throat.

Navoran had spent two years in training, half of which was spent being at the mercy of the high ranked soldiers. You were nothing if low on the food chain so he had struggled to rise just so that he would not have to endure the daily beatings any longer. He rose in the ranks for survival, not for power, and still arrived in the same exact place as the others. There was no justice on Ananci.

His squad consisted of many green recruits fresh from the horrors of basic training. They all bore scars from that dark point in their lives, some handling the memories better than others, and his heart went out to the young people who obviously did not belong in an army. They had the potential to be healers of the sick, teachers of the ignorant, and bringers of all sorts of joy to the Empire and it was all being wasted on senseless death and destruction. Navoran knew of the things that people free to choose their lifestyles could create. He had seen them on other planets, the places of conquest. Beautiful paintings, buildings, gardens, and, above all, happy people. People who were free to follow their dreams lived wonderful lives; people who were not only lived lives of sorrow.

"Sir," one of his soldiers saluted smartly as he passed him in the dimly lit hallway. It was one of the ones Navoran secretly worried about. The young man was constantly under pressure by Portl because of a small mistake he had made once before. Navoran feared that one day the strain would become too much and Daalit would end his own life.

"Report," the lieutenant said curtly, silently cursing himself for being so cold. None of his inner turmoil was ever shown in his facial expressions and for that he was glad. He didn't want to die but that was the last reason why he was happy that no one noticed his good nature. Navoran felt that he could help guide his soldiers to a brighter path. One day maybe Ananci could change and become a better world. If so, he wanted at least a few people to be ready to seize any chance they could find.

"People have recently arrived on the planet of Tale, Sir," the young man said, eyes cast to the ground in worry. "People I have never seen before."

"Oh really?" he stroked his chin with the claw of his right index finger.

"Yes, Sir. There was a large group of them, all but one with wild dark hair, and they looked like fighters. There were also three females among them." Navoran strode down the hall without a word, Daalit hurrying to keep up with him. They entered the communications room and the soldiers there were quickly ordered to display an image in relation to the coodinates Daalit spoke. Static briefly overtook the large screen of the monitor but soon the group was displayed in the middle of a small village.

"Are they the ones you spoke of?"

Daalit nodded, his short fingers pointing toward one of the figures. "That woman appears to be the leader, Sir. She carries herself with authority."

"Can you pick up any sound from them at all?" he asked one of the men. "I wish to know what they are saying."

Jolsen tried for a moment but nothing would come. Slightly nervous at the lieutenant's reaction, he tried everything that he could think of. Still there was no sound.

"There seems to be something blocking our instruments, Sir," he said, nervously licking his lips. "Shall I try again?"

Daalit placed a hand on his trembling shoulder, trying to say without words that there was nothing to fear from him. Jolsen briefly stiffened in preparation of pain but then, after realizing that none was forthcoming, he let out the breath that he had been holding. "There is no need. I will go see for myself. Continue watching the planet and report anything suspicious to commander Portl." He half-turned. "That goes for the rest of you, too."

"Yes, Sir!" All five saluted. Navoran asked Daalit to join him in quiet tones and the two of them headed towards the docking bay.

***

"Slow down, Taura," Katrinka instructed to the rapidly speaking twenty-two-year-old. His words were flowing so fast that no one else could hardly distinguish between them. Eventually the young man could only wave his arms around as he gasped for much needed oxygen. He was silent but she still understood.

"He explained how they attacked but doesn't understand why they've done it."

"You understood that?" Vegeta asked as he went back over the jumble of words in his mind, trying to puzzle out just what Taura had been trying to say. Kat nodded as she gently patted him on the back and asked him who was in command of the army.

"We don't have one," he admitted with a faint blush. "There are a lot of small forces fighting back but no one in charge of them all."

"What did you mean before, Vegeta?" She continued at the saiya-jin's confused frown. "About how 'onnas live to make things complicated where there's a simple solution'." She said this without anger but Vegeta knew that it still lingered underneath the surface.

"You're going through all of this for no reason at all," he told her. "All you have to do is kill the damn Thief not understand its motives or its abilities."

"What you don't understand," she begin to explain to him, "is that we don't know if something will happen because we kill it. For all we know it could have some universe-destruction mechanism in its being that could go off when killed. Do *you* want to suddenly die that soon after feeling victorious?"

Vegeta really considered that before relenting. "You know I don't."

"Well then, let me handle this."

A small spacecraft landed no too far away from them and caused many of the villagers to run away in fear. All recognized the logo on the side of the ship: it was Kamoku-jin and that only meant trouble. The fighters that had whitnessed the death the alien race had caused tensed up and instantly readied themselves for battle. They were surprised when only two beings emerged from the ship.

"Why do you come?" One Tale-sejin shouted in question to the approaching men and didn't receive an answer. Katrinka halted all further queries and told them to stand back as she went to speak with them.

"They're not evil," she whispered to Goku and Vegeta as the two Kamoku-jin waited. "I have no idea how they couldn't be but this just seems like the week of shocking discoveries." She walked towards them slowly, as if they were a frightened deer, and stopped a few feet away.

"Hak un yorka?" the taller of the two questioned her. "Hin un yorka hir en Tale?"

Katrinka studied their faces and found no trace of cruelty. That puzzled her even further. "Hin duu yorka harten? Duu yorka tuu ik litsu min?"

"Since when could she speak their language?" V.J. asked anyone that would listen. He was ignored.

The man briefly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and sighed. "Nunru. Wen tuu de litsu nunru."

Kat smiled and held out her hand. "Yah ar Katrinka. Fur sen yorkan namiran?" He took it briefly and so did his companion.

"Yah ar Navoran. Gi se Daalit." His eyes kept contact with hers the entire time. "Duu yorka tuu ik litsu wi?"

"Nun," she said softly, trying to convey her emotions through her eyes. "Nun mah litsun." Both men nodded in agreement and she led them back to the others. She said something else to them and held her hands over their heads. After some reassuring words, both men were calm enough to allow her to perform whatever action she wished. A glow washed over Katrinka's hands and onto the heads of her new acquaintances.

"I would like everyone to meet Navoran and Daalit," she introduced. "As you can see they are Kamoku-jin."

"Well duh!" Pan spoke. "Are they going to try and murder us all like the others?"

Navoran's heart broke as he listened to the little girl speak. Katrinka had cast a temporary spell over them so that they were all able to understand each other. He kneeled beside her and placed on hand on her shoulder. Pan didn't flinch but instead stared him in the eyes with just a tiny bit of fear

"I am sorry for what happened to your people," he said softly in a gentle voice, "and I will make it right."

"How?" she asked. "What can one person do for an entire planet?"

"There are always ways to destroy evil," he explained. "It's time for the Kamoku-jin to change anyway. My people," he said this with disgust, "are nothing more than soulless murderers. I do not wish to be associated with them any longer."

"You *are* a kind man," Goku smiled. "Katrinka is right, I can feel it."

"Lieutenant!" Daalit said with wide eyes. "This is treason! They are going to skin us alive literally for this!"

Navoran stood and turned to face his soldier. "No one should have to grow up experiencing this. Our children should not be trained in the art of murder. *You* shouldn't have been trained in the art of murder. I know that you're destined for greater things than war, Daalit and I'm going to see that you get a chance to realize that. My time has passed but yours has just barely begun." He turned back to Kat and kneeled before her. "I offer myself to you, Katrinka. Use me as you will."

"This will not be easy, Navoran," she said as she kneeled beside him. "Even after the Change you will be still feared across the Universe for many years to come. I cannot shield you from that but I can promise that I will not be one of the ones to treat you badly. Will you still seek change in the Empire?"

He nodded, eyes filled with hope. "I will."

"Then come with me, Navoran of Ananci, and I will show you what to do." The two of them walked off toward a house being used for planning with Daalit staring after him.

"Lieutenant..." he whispered as he slowly came to a decision. After saying a quick prayer to any gods who were listening to keep he and Navoran safe, he ran after them.

"This is a good, good thing!" Goku said with a happy smile. "Now all we need to do is stop the Thief and everything will be perfect." Whistling a cheerful tune, he began to instruct any who were willing on battle techniques. Vegeta went off to find out the current status of the war from Kallen with a emotion that he wasn't familar with and, after silently making a decision, Trunks and Goten went for a walk.

***

Both were silent as they left the village behind but it didn't last for very long. Trunks stopped beside a large tree and leaned against the trunk. "Are you afraid Goten?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm terrified," he admitted. "Not just about this but about a lot of things."

Trunks sighed. "I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up soon and this is all going to be a dream. Everything will be as it was last year when I was afraid to tell you anything. But then again," he took Goten's hand, "I'm afraid of what will happen now that we *are* together."

"This isn't going to be easy, is it?" he asked. "At first I thought that having someone was just in name only. Now I can only think 'Is what I say next going to make him angry? Unhappy? Depressed?' It's a lot of work, Trunks." The other young man looked away and Goten could literally sense that he had upset him. Goten realized what he had just said and he tried to get Trunks to look at him again. "That definitely didn't come out right. Let me try again."

"Making someone happy and treating them right is only hard work because I'm always afraid of what I do or say. Everything I do with you or for you makes me feel warm all over. What I guess I'm trying to say is that I love you Trunks." He smiled. "And I wouldn't give you up for anything in the world." There was complete silence for a few moments until Trunks burst into happy tears and grabbed Goten in a huge hug. "You're an emotional one, aren't you."

"Baka," Trunks said playfully as he sniffed. "If I had just told you that I loved you wouldn't you cry?"

"Do you?" he asked softly. "Love me, I mean."

Trunks stepped back and let all of his emotions enter his eyes. "I love you more than life itself." And, despite Goten's earlier teasing, tears did come to his eyes. Then Trunks kissed him and those tears of happiness turned into tears of joy. The older man had been waiting almost his entire life for that kiss and would have been content with just that one. But one turned into two and two into three until a loud voice broke them apart.

"Goten and Trunks sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Goten with the baby carriage!"

"Trust Pan-chan to ruin a moment," Goten muttered. "Even though two out of those three things are impossible, I'll settle for just love."

"Settle?" Trunks said with a mock pout. "You act like it wasn't your first choice or something."

Goten smiled and quickly kissed him on the nose. "Do you know that you're cute when you pout?"

"All of this mushy stuff is making me physically ill!" Pan announced as she ran back to the village. "Take it someplace else!"

Trunks thought back to what his ojiisan had said about 'the bond'. "I wonder if this I'm feeling is what it is."

"You're talking about the bond aren't you?" Goten said to his koibito's surprise. "I'm going to ask him about it. Saiya-jins from Vegeta-sei know about those things."

"Did you see the look on his face when he said it, though? It was like it was a bad thing." Trunks' brow furrowed in though. "How could something that feels this good be bad?"

"He has a lot to answer that's for sure."

The two of them leisurely headed toward the village hand-in-hand and enjoying the new place their mutual declaration of love had brought them.

 

**Kamoku-jin Language Translations:**

"Hak un yorka? Hin un yorka hir en Tale?" = "Who are you? Why are you here on Tale?"  
"Hin duu yorka harten? Duu yorka tuu ik litsu min?" = "Why do you ask? Do you want to kill me?"  
"Nunru. Wen tuu de litsu nunru." = "No one. We want to kill no one."  
"Yah ar Katrinka. Fur sen yorkan namiran?" = I am Katrinka. What are your names?"  
"Yah ar Navoran. Gi se Daalit. Duu yorka tuu ik litsu wi?" = "I am Navoran. He is Daalit. Do you want to kill us?"  
"Nun. Nun mah litsun." = No. No more killing."


	6. Spy Games

**June 22nd, AA 001**   
  


Navoran and Daalit joined them in the command center the next day against some people's wishes. The two Kamoku-jin stood silently in a corner, praying that no one even noticed them. Many people talked quietly about the Kamoku-jin, some more harsher than others, but it all stopped when Katrinka and Kallen entered and unrolled a large piece of paper onto the table.

"This is a diagram of the Kamoku-jin war ship that Navoran drew up for us earlier," Kallen said. "I'll let him explain about the best possible places to enter unheeded."

The tall Kamoku-jin entered the circle of Tale-sejin with numerous wary glances. He extended one claw and delicately pointed at one entrance so that he wouldn't accidentally tear the paper. "Commander Portl's chamber is right next to here but it isn't guarded while he is asleep. Instead the troops usually stationed here and moved here," he pointed to a doorway, "to his chambers. There is a back hallway running by that entrance that circles around the entire ship. You can't go left but right is a good choice as long as you time it so that you miss the patrols. At the first intersection the guards pass by every minute because their route is shorter. The time increases gradually until the fifth intersection where they pass by every five minutes. This is the hallway that you will need to go down but there are good places of hiding along it. I recommend that you only take a force of five people or less into the ship.

"The commander goes to bed at precisely nineteen thirty so wait until twenty for the guard to be in position. Daalit and I will be in the power room by ninteen forty-five at the latest to cause confusion among the other troops. Those soldiers patrolling in the places I've showed you must continue to guard upon penalty of death. They will not move from their positions and confuse you." He closed his eyes briefly in remembered horror of a public execution. "No, they will not move."

"Will your commander still be alive when they enter the ship?" Katrinka asked gently and saw how Navoran wouldn't meet her eyes. She waited a moment before continuing. "It's alright, they can do it. Is he a good fighter?"

He snorted. "Of course not. When has the boss ever been good at anything besides shouting orders and giving threats? If several people surround him it should be easy. Of course those several people would have to come with us and hide in my chambers until right before he goes to sleep and before the guard changes. I know you don't trust me but for anything to change you will have to."

"Why have you attacked us in the first place?" a man asked. "We've done nothing to you."

Navoran thought back to one of his commander's drunken ramblings. The mission had come up more than once. 'Lieutenant,' he had said, 'we will get revenge for our defeat by the hands of those Chikyuu people. Headquarters has discovered that the head guy over there has formed an alliance with several planets. Since Tale is the closeset to Ananci it will be the first to fall!'

"He attacked this planet because you are part of the Chikyuu-sei Alliance. The leaders of our planet consider it revenge on Chikyuu. If we weaken the Empire then there is a chance that we would be able to conquer Chikyuu after all. They never thought anyone would be able to come to the rescue in time."

The door cracked open, allowing a thin slice of light to shine inward. Taura locked eyes with Katrinka and motioned her outside for a talk. "Kat-chan, Jas is trying to talk to the Riders. If what you told us before is true, then we definitely don't want them to stick around any longer and have a chance to attract the Thief's presence."

"I can't let him do that," she told him, already headed off toward where the Riders had been attacking yesterday. "This is too big of a risk seeing as he'll have to get Lucifer to take back his orders..." She paused when she saw the look on his face. "Taura? What is it?"

The young man sighed and told her the truth. "Jas as been blessed by Lucifer. He's basically his servant."

"How in the world-?"

"It's a pretty long story, one I'm sure you don't have time for." He turned towards another house, one they had been using as the communications center, and disappeared into it intending on informing Bulma and Gohan with the latest news. Kat stood there for a moment, staring after him in thought, before she took to the skies and tracked down the area with the most dark ki.

***

"We have to talk," Vegeta informed his son in a tone of voice that was very familar to him. The younger Vegeta merely snorted and gave his bearded father an irritated glance.

"I'm not a little boy anymore Father," he said. "You can't tell me to do something and expect me to do it no questions asked. Besides--" he motioned to the activity going on around them, "--do you really think that this is the best time?"

"Now is as good a time as any." Seeing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, Vegeta sighed and resigned himself to his fate. "How have things been going for you?"

Saying that he was startled was an understatement. Saying that he was shocked beyond belief was closer but... "Have you been reading Chikyuu parenting books?"

"Of course not, boy. You know I can't read any of their languages." He looked away briefly. "But I do notice how Kakarotto is with his kids and it made me feel a little..."

"Cold-hearted?" Vegeta supplied. "Guilty?"

He shook his head. "Bad, Vegeta. Despite what you think I do care about what happens to you." His son snorted. "I know your mother loved you."  
  
"What?" Vegeta asked, unable to keep the surprise from his face. "She did?"

"Of course she did boy! She was your mother." Vegeta sighed. "She told me this right before she died, 'Take good care of him Vegeta. Make sure he grows up right.' I was too busy being king and trying not to give in too much to Furiza that I didn't even pay attention to you. I promised her Vegeta. I promised! But I broke my word as easily as I've broken people's necks. Those six years that we spent together were the ones that mattered the most. They were your," he searched for the term that Bardock had described it as, "formative years. What I said to you and how I treated you mattered the most then and look at what you used to be, look at how you had turned out. That was my fault."

"Papa..." Vegeta whispered, calling his father something he hadn't in more years than he could remember. Any further words were cut off when the other man continued.

"But look at you now," he smiled slightly. "A family, a palace, a empire... You've made me proud. You're not the strongest out there but I guess I can overlook that for now."

"I'm starting to think that maybe second strongest isn't so bad after all," he said almost to himself. "It's not as if I don't have more important things to worry about."

"There you go!" Then he did something so unexpected it left the younger Vegeta off-balance. He hugged him.

"Aw!" said a *very* familar voice. "Group hug!"

"NO KAKAROTTO!" But it was too late. Goku had, once again, stolen the breath from someone with one of his hugs. Both Vegetas were left gasping for air and the grin on Goku's face made them laugh. A lot. Soon tears were streaming down the faces of all three and people were beginning to stare. Vegeta the younger caught his breath first and nodded in the direction of his general. "Arigatou, Kakarotto. I needed that."

"No problem!" Goku said cheerfully. "What are friends for?"

"Is the meeting over?"

"Yeah," Goku sighed. "We're gonna have to kill the commander." The eyes of the other two men lit up. "I don't want to do it but..."

"He's too much of a threat to keep alive," Vegeta-oui said in a pretty convincing voice.

"I'm not stupid, you know. I had already figured that out myself."

"Could have fooled me," he muttered just loud enough for his general to overhear him. Goku rolled his eyes and started off.

"This is a battle, Vegeta. You know how I am where there's a battle."

He sort of smiled. "Hai, I know. There's no one I'd rather have at my back either." That made Goku litterally freeze in mid-step and only his good balance kept him from falling over in shock. "Nani? You don't think that's true?"

He glanced back at him with a smile before continuing on his way to the command center. "I know that it's true. You don't lie about things like that. Arigatou Vegeta."

Vegeta smiled and looked sideways at his father. "What? We're like brothers, didn't you know?"

"I didn't even think that you liked him very much," he said. "But since I haven't been around you much at all I can't read you like I could when you were a child."

"Vegeta-ojisan?" Pan said as she stopped to stand before him. "Can I go with you guys? I know Goku-ojiichan is going to say iie but..."

"Pan, you can't come. I agree with Kakarotto about exposing you to uneccessary violence."

Her eyes grew wide. "I'm just shocked."

"Get used to it. Besides," he kneeled down to her level. "I would rather not have your kaasan or obaasan trying to kill me."

She grinned. "Now that reason I believe. See ya Veggie-ojisan!" He watched her go before leaving himself. He had sons of his own that he needed to talk to.

***

Katrinka landed in a forest not too far away from the Riders' last battleground. Kamoku-jin bodies mixed in with those of native Tale-sejin Some were whole but most were in bits here and pieces there and blood still gleamed dully on scythes. Jas stood there, between the bodies and the Riders, trying to stop the carnage. So far he was unsuccessful.

"What does Lucifer have to do with any of this?" he asked, still struggling to understand.

"The Kamoku-jin are all his Chosen," the leader said in a grave voice. "They called on him to aid their conquest and so we are here."

"I doubt they said to kill the Kamoku-jin as well."

A lipless mouth opened in a gruesome parody of a smile. "They did not ask us not to."

Kat let the words go on for just a bit longer before deciding to interfere. After putting on her best irritated look, she marched over to stand beside Jas. "Go back to your master. We don't want you here."

"Who are you to order us?" the leader asked. "Who are you to override Lucifer's commands?"

"I'm the one who put him down there!" Opened a portal and began to shoo them backwards into it. "Tell him that Katrinka said to ignore all further requests by the Kamoku-jin or I'm coming down there after him. You got that?"

"Whatever you say," he bowed in mock respect. "If anything it'll be interesting to hear his response to your threat." With no further responses from him they departed, closing the portal behind them.

Katrinka turned her eyes to Jas who stood before her without fear. "Explain."

"I wanted my soul back and his price was not too steep to pay."

"NOT TOO-!" She cut herself off and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Not too steep to pay? Becoming Lucifer's servant is about as steep a price as I've ever seen!"

He looked at her with a very placid expression. "You would have done it."

She shook her head. "No I wouldn't have. There's always another way to get what you want if you're willing to look for it."

"You are the Creator," he said bitterly as the calm façade shattered. "You will never have to worry about such things. I, on the other hand, had to walk through the darkness always searching for a way out that didn't exist. You can't preach to me about what you would have done because you aren't me."

Her next words surprised him. "Why didn't you ask *me* for help? I'm always happy to help one of my children."

Jas was suddenly ashamed. Why didn't he ask her? Because he thought that she didn't exist. Any god or goddess that really cared about him would not have let him become soulless in the first place. That was his theory and he stuck by it. But now here she was, standing before him, kindly asking why didn't he ask her for help. That alone made him begin to second-guess his earlier decision.

"I understand," she said to him softly. "I would probably be wondering the same exact thing."

"I apologize Katrinka," he said softly without looking at her. "For doubting you."

"It's no big deal, Jas. Everyone doubts someone or something at least once in their lifetime. I know I have." They began to fly back to the village with Kat explaining the plan so far. "We've got work to do tonight but it should stop the war."

"What about the Thief? Weren't you after him in the first place?"

She grinned. "I still am. This war isn't just about the Kamoku-jin versus the Tale-sejin, you know. It's about the Thief versus Evil. I have to stop the Evil before it gets here or things are going to get really bad, really fast."

Jas looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand."

"What I discovered is that the Thief is only stealing the bits of time that it feels is "bad" because it's trying to make things "good". You can't go around screwin' with the past and expect the present to be fine. It just doesn't work out that way. So I have to stop your war before the Thief gets it into its mind to stop it for me by going back into the past and altering something." Jas involuntarily shuddered and that made her look over at him. "It'll be fine, you'll see."

"I hope so." He thought of his friends, his family, and all of the innocent people that would be affected by another time theft. "I really, really hope so."

***

"If you're not squeamish about killing someone get over here!" Kallen shouted with authority. Pan was one of the people who joined their group and was the first one to leave after seeing Commander Kallen's intimidating stare. Soon the only ones left were of saiya-jin origin. She sighed silently. Of course they would be the only ones left. "Here's is the plan thus far," she explained how they would have to hide in Navoran's quarters for a time before sneaking into Portl's. "You have approximately three minutes to get in there, take care of it, and get out before the guard changes. In fact, only one of you really need to go inside. The others can stand guard outside of the door."

The three Vegetas glanced at each other, then, after deciding on a way to settle things, began to play a game.

"Rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Scissors cuts paper!" V.J. cheered.

"But," his father smirked. "rock breaks scissors. I win."

Kallen stared at them with a 'I can't believe this is happening' look on her face. "I guess that's one way to settle things..." She cleared her throat. "All right then! The three Vegetas will go onto the ship with Goku but the middle Vegeta will be the one to dispatch the commander. All we have to do now is pick the ones who will help take over the ship from the assembled Tale-sejin military." She looked at said people with a critical eye, noting their strengths and weaknesses. Barely keeping the sigh in check, she began pointing out people. There wasn't much to work with.

She drew her saber. "I want you all to come at me and fight the hardest that you possibly can." The five men exchanged glances. "What's wrong? Are you afraid a woman'll beat you?" That did it. The entire group of them rushed her and, in less than ten minutes, she had them all laid out on the ground. 'Kami,' she thought with a soft sigh, 'good thing they aren't fighting saiya-jin.' "Not bad. Not good either but not bad."

"Can we do the job?" one of then asked. He was short and a little on the pudgy side with thick-fingered hands that clutched at the hilt of his sword.

"You might..." She trailed off, thinking to herself. 'If he stays on his right side to compensate for his pretty bad right hook... Yeah, it'll work.' She began pointing out these little things, trying to shift everyone around so that one man's weakness would be covered by another's strength. In the end everything was pretty well-balanced and that pleased her. "Okay, from now until seventeen-hundred we're going to do drills! If you want to survive this thing you've got to know more."

Vegeta, the middle one, was more than a little impressed with Kallen and even told her so. She grinned briefly before concentrating on showing the proper way to parry and tossed him an offhand comment. "Saiya-jin aren't the only ones who know how to train a bunch of people into an army."

He nodded. "I'll remember that." His ears caught the tail-end of a conversation between Katrinka and the two Kamoku-jin and just couldn't stop listening.

"I can't thank you enough for trusting us enough to help," Navoran was saying. "Betraying my people has been worth every moment."

"What will you do once you've taken over? Do you need us to go back with you to Ananci?"

There was a brief silence. "I guess we'll have to see. Anything could happen on the ship and even though there are four saiya-jin going..."

"Gotcha. If things get too out of hand Goku can get everyone out of there like this." She snapped her fingers. "In fact, that's how we got here in the first place."

"Helpful skill." He looked away briefly and then surprised her with a hug. "I can't thank you enough. Even if this all fails I can die happy knowing that someone at least tried."

"If you die, Lieutenant," Daalit said, "I'll make sure things change. Count on it." He laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let everything worry you so much. We'll go in there tonight and walk away victorious. No one can stand up against saiya-jin."

Vegeta nodded to himself and walked out of hearing range. At least they were finally taking care of the Kamoku-jin problem and in a way that even Bulma would approve of. He had wanted to just do a mass genocide seeing as they had tried to do that to Chikyuu but this way was more worthwhile. If Navoran gains control of planet then he would be an ally. Vegeta smiled, thinking of how large his empire was growing. Allies he liked.

Definitely.

***

The first group was assembled in the darkness of the night receiving last-minute instructions from Navoran. Kallen had dubbed them the Assassination Team and gave them intstructions to just get in, kill the commander, and get out. Nothing else was needed. She definitely made sure that Vegeta Junior had understood this. He had a tendency not to listen to authority.

"What is the next team supposed to do exactly?" Pan asked. She hadn't be allowed to listen in on the meeting.

"The Infiltration Team is going to help Navoran and Daalit gain control of the ship." Kallen informed her and everyone who hadn't been aware of that. "If successful the battles will stop. That's what we're really aiming for, folks. Anything else that happens will be an added bonus."

"If that's the only thing we're tryin' to do then there would just be the Assassination Team," Pan said with a smirk. "What's the real plan here?"

"Pan," Mia said, "the real plan is to stop the war. We're sending another team in just in case taking over the ship becomes reality. How many Kamoku-jin are on the ship, Navoran?"

He thought for a brief moment, adding up the totals. "One-hundred and fifty."

The assembled people gave him looks of shock. "When were you going to tell us this?" Kallen asked with a sigh.

"When someone asked. This shouldn't be a problem for a group of saiya-jin. They took out a huge invasion force of four-hundred on Chikyuu."

"Still..." Mia thought for a moment. "I'm going too. Trunks, Goten, and I will make up a third team just in case. We're the backup."

"What am I supposed to do?" Pan asked them all.

"Do you see all of these saiya-jins?" Vegeta asked her.

"Of course I do."

"Then your job is to train them until Kakarotto gets back. Believe it or not, you know more than they do and you're stronger."

Pan was pleased at the complement. "I'm finally stronger than someone. I like that." She hugged Vegeta briefly and walked off to find her trainees, whistling a happy tune.

"You actually handled that really well," Katrinka said. "Imagine that."

"I'm not a cold, heartless bastard," he said with a amused smirk. "Why does that surprise you?"

She shook her head and smiled. "It doesn't surprise me at all, Vegeta. I'm proud of you." After shooting him another smile, she walked off to speak to someone else.

***

At precisely eighteen-forty-five the team of four flew to the ship where they were let in by Navoran. He led them to his personal quarters and told them to stay put.  
  
"The commander's room is right next door so there'll be no problem finding it. Make sure you go at nineteen-fifteen and are out of there at nineteen-twenty at the very latest. If you aren't you're going to have to fight and maybe jeopardize the next team."

The three full-blooded saiya-jins nodded but V.J. wandered around the room looking at Navoran's things. Overall, he wasn't impressed. "You sure have a crappy room for a lieutenant," he informed him. Navoran was more than a little insulted by his remark but chose not to comment on it. Instead he whispered something to Goku and exited, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"Your comment was uncalled for, Vegeta," his father said sternly. "Don't offend future allies."

V.J. was shocked that he had gotten repremanded but did see the benefits of not pissing people that were supposed to be your friends off. "Sure, Papa." He glanced around and couldn't find a clock anywhere. "How long until the commander dies?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Thirty minutes." He pulled a pack of cards from his pocket. "Wanna play something?" The other three agreed and the short saiya-jin found himself explaining the rules of Poker to his father. Time passed pretty quickly and soon it was only five minutes before showtime.

The four of them crept down the darkened hall using stealth that wasn't uncommon to the saiya-jin race. Vegeta, the middle one, was allowed to reach the door to Portl's room first and he opened it slowly and quietly, privately pleased that the hinges were well-oiled. He was half-way into the room when he realized that it was empty.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed in shock. His first thought was that Navoran had betrayed him but it was quickly squashed when the commander came through a door off to his right. 'Must be the bathroom or something.' He dove behind a piece of furniture and was surprised that the commander hadn't noticed him yet. It wouldn't have mattered if he had, though, he still would be just as dead. Vegeta waited for a few moments, until his back was turned, and jumped to his feet. His had was poised for a blow when there was a thudering noise outside the room that sounded a lot like a stampede. He hit Portl with a blow that sent him directly into unconsciousness and was going to deal another when Goku contacted him mentally.

' _We've got problems, Veggie._ '

He decided to let the nickname go for once. ' _What kind of problems?_ '

' _There are about fifty soldiers running down the hall out here and none of them have even noticed us._ '

' _How is that a *bad* thing Kakarotto?_ ' Then he suddenly frowned. There were strange beings on their ship, saiya-jin beings no less, and no one was doing or saying anything to them at all. That could only mean one thing... ' _There's something a lot scarier than we are somewhere._ '

' _Exactly. Wonder what it is._ ' Goku's voice had taken on a anticipatory tone that Vegeta knew very well.

' _I'm going to finish this guy off and follow. Save some ass-kicking for me._ '

Goku laughed and it wasn't his usual kind. This was of the joyous, battle variety. ' _You bet._ '

Quickly, the now annoying task was completed and Vegeta was running off down the deserted hallway to join the fun.


	7. Side Story: A Night to Remember

**May 7th, AA 001**  
  


When Goten came downstairs to meet Trunks his mother was there instead. She took one look at his outfit (a red and black dress shirt, brand-new jeans, and black dress shoes was *real* slutty in her opinion) and pulled him to the quiet formal living room.

"It's time that we had a little talk," she said while taking a seat. "Just say no, Goten-chan."

He blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't have to do anything you don't really want to do so that you can fit in. Kami only knows what kinds of diseases he has from his loose moral ethics."

"Trunks isn't "morally loose"!" he exclaimed, extremely pissed off at her words. "You have no right to talk about him that way!"

"I don't want you to catch something and die!" She began to cry but it had no effect on her son.

"I love you Kaasan but I also love Trunks. I can't sit here and let you say that he'll give me some kind of deadly viral disease." He left the room to find more pleasant company.

Trunks was coming inside the house just as he returned to the main hall bearing a bouquet of fragrant red roses. "These are for you. Are you ready to go?"

Goten smiled and sniffed at the flowers. "Thanks, Trunks, they're g-g-" He sniffed, eyes suddenly wattering. Sneezing violently, he handed the flowers back to the other man. "-great."

"You're allergic to roses," he sighed and placed them on a table. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"Neither did I so no harm done." Goten wasn't going to let a bad flower incident ruin his date. Besides, once they were at least three feet away from him he was fine. "Aren't our dinner reservations at nine?"

"Hai, let's go."

Trunks was driving his convertible, (he always drove his convertible when he wanted to look cool) and they made their way to the restaurant at a reasonable pace. Trunks was so concentrated on the road (he didn't want to add a car accident to their current list of first date mishaps) that he didn't notice the gathering rain clouds. When Goten felt a drop of moisture on his bare arm he asked him to let the top up.

He pushed the button on the dashboard and it made a faint whirring noise as it came up about two inches. Then it stopped completely. Trunks jabbed at the button repeatedly but nothing happened.

Goten sighed as the clouds burst and swimming pools of water poured down onto both of them. "Somehow, I knew that this was going to happen."

They arrived at the Italian restaurant soaking wet and irritated. It had stopped raining almost immediately, only lasting long enough to get them damp down to their underwear. Both flared their ki, causing the water droplets to evaporate, and went inside feeling a lot better about things.

"I think that was the end of the bad things," Trunks said as the waiter showed them to a table. As soon as the words had left his mouth they had to be seated in the smoking section.

"Buona sera," the waiter said in a cordial manner that made both men instantly like him. "I am Antonio, your waiter for this evening." He handed them menus. "We have a special on stuffed chicken parmigiana this evening. It's breaded chicken filled with cheese and garlic topped by tomato sauce."

"Sounds good," Goten said. "Bring me a ceasar salad, one bowl of minestrone soup, and a pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage, and mushrooms to start. I don't want to fill up on appetizers." The waiter wrote it down with a shocked look on his face.

"And you, signore?" he said to Trunks. "What would you have?"

"Sicilian scampy, minestrone soup, pasta e fagioli, and bruschetta caprese." He smiled and placed his menu onto the table. "Can we also have a pitcher of peach sangria? Thanks."

Goten was a little surprised at his knowlege of wine. "Someone had to have told you about what was good here. Who was it?"

"Busted!" he laughed. "It was Gohan. He's come here more than once with scientist type people for business dinners."

They talked about many different things, ranging from popular music to future plans. The restaurant had begun to fill up and soon the thick smoke from cigars and cigarettes was wafting over them. Goten went to coughing and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You see? This is why non-smokers *never* sit in the smoking section," he said while downing a glass of the wine Antonio had placed on the table a little while ago. It did little to ease the stinging in the back of his throat.

"Excuse me, Antonio!" Trunks waved the man over. "We need another table. Has one been vacated in the non-smoking section yet?"

"Sì, signore. I will show you to your new table."

It was near the back of the room, coincidentally situated between a family of five and two very loud talking young women. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as they took seats and all wondered what the heck was going to happen *this* time.

"He's so cute!" The brunette gushed to her friend, the blond. "The purple-haired one is a real hottie."

"Miranda, they're both hot!" Then they started to giggle, making both Trunks and Goten a little afraid.

"They sound like they're plotting something evil," Goten whispered with a sideways look at the two girls.

Trunks nodded and then laughed. "Boy aren't they going to be disappointed to discover that we're together."

"Gentlemen your dinner is served," Antonio said with a smile. He parked the cart loaded with thier meal next to the table and was about to depart when Trunks asked if he could stay and talk for a minute. The young man agreed.

"Are you really from Italy?" Goten asked between bites.

"Oh no, this accent I just use on the job." He dropped it and an accent emerged that was a lot more southern than Europe. "I'm really Australian."

About half-way through the meal Goten caught the waiter staring at his almost boyfriend. It wasn't an innocent, "you're interesting to look at" type of stare either. It was the "horny predator" type and it pissed him off.

After the meal was over and the bill had yet to be paid, the waiter pressed a slip of paper into Trunks' hand and said something that made him blush. Goten was just about close to grabbing Antonio by the neck and shaking him like a rag doll. Trunks caught his hands and looked at him until he calmed down.

"You shouldn't be jealous, dear one," he said with a smile. "No one else can even begin to compare with you."

Goten felt a dopey smile come over his face and just as they were leaning forward for their first kiss the two loud chicks from the next table interrupted.

"HOW COME ALL THE CUTE ONES ARE GAY?!"

***

They left the restuarant feeling a lot more happier than they had went in. Holding hands as they walked through the parking lot, Goten was practically floating with love for his boy.

"I was thinking about something, Trunks-chan," he said with a more than a little nervousness. Goten had no idea how the other man would take his next question. "How about we cement our relationship?"

Trunks stopped in mid-step and turned wide eyes to the taller demi-saiya-jin. "C-c-cement?"

A single nod. "Hai. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"After one date you want to tie the knot?" He still couldn't believe it.

"I would have wanted to do it even if we had never gone on a single date." He dropped down to one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket. "Trunks, will you be my lifemate?"

Instead of answering verbally Trunks just laughed. After it had gone on for a few seconds, Goten's courage was beginning to falter. Trunks wiped at his eyes and dropped down to join the other man on the pavement.

"I'm sorry, but it's just so funny!" Just when Goten was either going to burst into tears or get mad he pulled his own ring box from his pocket. "Goten, will *you* be my lifemate?"

No answers were needed. They embraced and the small audience of full restaurant-diners they had acquired began to clap. Soon the hugging turned into kissing, the kissing into groping, the groping into.... something a little too indecent for public. Several straight males covered their eyes and those of their children while the women all looked on, admiring the muscular glory that was Trunks and Goten. Just when the people thought that they were about to get naked and sweaty right there in the parking lot, a cop pulled to a stop by the curb and yelled, "Get a room!"

Goten pulled away first, blushing when he caught sight of all the voyeurs. "I'm going to save myself for the honeymoon, Trunks."

"But we don't even know when the damn wedding's going to be!" Trunks was beginning to whine at being denied.

He couldn't stand to see the look on his face. "Screw it, let's go home and get naked."

"YAY!" Then he snickered. "Now all that soundproofing papa and kaasan had installed is finally really going to come in handy for some people other than them."

"Do you think having sex with girls count as in who can wear white in our gay wedding?"

They both looked at each other for a moment in silence. "You would look quite sexy in black, Goten."

"So would you, Trunks, so would you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was my tiny little side story? Next up on The New Age Empire: Goten & Trunks' wedding! Will it be the event of the millennium or everyone's worst nightmare?


End file.
